this is the briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. our top story: sydney kick starts a global strike for the climate. thousands are set to join rallies across asia and europe, demanding urgent action. a new name in charge at the european council, but will the appointment of charles michel signal a shift in tone for the eu? shame and suicide in south korea — claims the law is failing victims of spy camera crime. the footage from this can be uploaded onto your phone in seconds and within minutes is on the internet. in business: black friday — or green friday?

the annual retail frenzy begins, amid growing concerns about the environmental cost. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. we're asking if you're over black friday on environmental grounds or because there's no genuine bargains to be had. you can be part of the conversation. tell us what you think, just use the hashtag bbc—the—briefing thousands of australian students have walked out of class to join rallies demanding stronger action to rein in climate change, which they said is contributing to the country's bushfire crisis.

the rallies, in sydney and other major australian cities, were the first in a series of protests by students across the globe, demanding governments do more to protect the environment. there have been similar strikes in tokyo, while protests start in cities, including bangkok and paris, later. the protests come ahead of the annual un climate conference that starts in madrid on monday. let's go live to sydney now and our correspondent phil mercer. talk us through the strikes today. how many people have been attending? thousands. many demonstrations in australia. we were at one rally in the centre of sydney, outside the syd ney the centre of sydney, outside the sydney headquarters of the liberal party. the liberal party is of the governing party in the state of new south wales, which has seen devastating bushfires. it is also the major partner in the federal

government. protesters angry at the prime minister scott morrison, accusing him of standing idly by while australia burns. they believe the australian government, a centre right administration, is doing enough to rein in the fossil fuel industry or taking climate change seriously. both noting that scott morrison admonished a couple of local council leaders for linking bushfires with climate change. hundreds of people outside the liberal party headquarters in sydney and many more demonstrating in other parts of the country. do you get the sense that as these protests go on, there is a rising sense of anxiety linked to these bushfires? in september, we had an estimated 300,000 people attend various climate demonstrations across australia. today's rallies are not

anywhere near that number. i put that question to protesters earlier and they say it is all about momentum and keeping the message going. certainly, there is anger, anxiety and also frustration as well. many younger people at the demonstration we were at earlier saying they were 16 or 17 years of age and they say in the next few yea rs age and they say in the next few years they will be the ones voting in australia's elections and they believe they will take charge. there isa believe they will take charge. there is a great deal of frustration, as we say, at the prime minister scott morrison. he has insisted that australia is meeting its international targets but mr morrison has not been seen near the syd ney morrison has not been seen near the sydney offices today and i would imagine many of the young people would like quite a noisy word with him. the issue of climate change is extremely pertinent in australia. many protesters say the severity and

intensity of the bushfires in eastern australia in recent weeks area eastern australia in recent weeks are a result of climate change and many scientists say australia's annual bushfire season is getting longer and more intense because of the impact of climate change. thank you for the update. there's to be a changing of the guard today at the european council where the outgoing president, donald tusk, is to be replaced by the former prime minister of belgium, charles michel. the eu council is the institution which brings together the leaders of the member states in a decision—making body. mr tusk has used his position to make clear his passionate opposition to brexit, which he described as a symptom of a british longing for lost empire. gareth barlow reports. after five years in the job, donald tusk has left the building. it is time to say goodbye, he wrote on

twitter, along with a video of himself running towards the european council for the last time. the incoming president, the former belgium leader, charles michel, officially begins is 2.5 year term on friday and the transition of power will be marked by a ceremony. donald tusk has been a central figure in brexit negotiations. the situation is quite complex, following events over the weekend in the uk, and the british requests for an extension of article 50. and there will be keen interest in charles michel's style when dealing with the uk. he is expected to vigorously defend eu interest. he will represent the eu on the world stage during international summits and convene key eu meetings. at a time when global relations are being tested, stretched and reset, the

task ahead is far from simple. gareth barlow, bbc news. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: there have been renewed demonstrations in malta where protestors are demanding the resignation of the prime minister, joseph muscat, over his handling of the murder of the anti—corru ption journalist, daphne ca ruana galizia. protesters sat in the road near the parliament building and chanted, "muscat out". hong kong is braced for a fresh round of protests over the weekend, as police said they would withdraw from a university on friday that has been the site of some of the worst clashes between protesters and security forces in nearly six months of unrest. the protests are planned from friday, through the weekend and into next week. hong kong has been relatively calm since local elections last sunday delivered an overwhelming victory to pro—democracy candidates. president trump has made an unannounced trip to afghanistan, claiming to american troops at bagram airbase that the taliban wants to agree a ceasefire. it's his first visit to the country

since he took office. he also met the afghan president, and reaffirmed his intention to reduce the us military presence "substa ntially". sri lanka's new president, gotabaya rajapaksa, is visiting india for his first foreign trip since taking office less than a fortnight ago. his message is that the doors are wide open for indian, as well as chinese, investment. research by psychiatrists suggests that nearly a quarter of young people are so dependent on their smartphones that it becomes like an addiction. the study, by king's college in london, says that people become "panicky" or "upset" if they are denied constant access. the youngsters also cannot control the amount of time they spend on the phone. a row has broken out between two key nato allies, france and turkey, over policy on syria. at a news conference in paris, president macron said turkey's invasion of syria, targeting kurdish fighters, was endangering nato's actions against the extremist group, the so—called islamic state.

translation: i respect the security interests of our ally turkey, which has suffered any terrorist attacks on its soil, which has suffered many terrorist attacks on its soil, but one cannot on one and say that we are allies and, with respect to this demand, our solidarity, and on the other put its allies in the face of a military offensive done as fait accompli, which endangers the action of the coalition against islamic state, which nato is part of. the government in ankara has responded angrily to mr macron, accusing france of sponsoring terrorism by hosting representatives of kurdish militia in paris. translation: he is already the sponsor of a terrorist organisation and constantly hosts them at the elysee palace. if he says his ally is a terrorist organisation, we have an answer for this but there is nothing more to say. and all this ahead of a nato summit in london next week, to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance. in case you didn't know it, today is black friday,

the annual shopping binge after the thanksgiving holiday which is now a global phenomenon. but it's also becoming the focus of concerns about the environmental cost of consumerism. with me is fiona cincotta, who's a senior market analyst at city index. good morning. all of us would have had our e—mails inundated for days now about black friday's so—called deals. it is still a big retail event and the reason it is called black friday, it is important for retailers because they tend to move into the black and start making some money over more of what they are spending however there is another side to this and this year is the first year we are seeing this, the sustainability question. do we really need to be buying that item

we are after because there is obviously an environmental impact, the manufacturing, transportation of that item. this is a first year where i feel this has really become a topic. should it be green friday? could we recycle, sell or repair. initially it was a retail experience, stores discounting massively. now that it is on line, are there genuine bargains?‘ massively. now that it is on line, are there genuine bargains? a lot of talk about this. the general analysis has been that actually only about one in 20 our true discounts. you can actually get the item perhaps cheaper and other time of year. it does throw it all into question, how authentic is black friday? but there are still good discounts to be had. you have to

hunt them down. some companies say they will not discount on a black friday so some retailers pushing back? not only do we have that pushing back on the environmental front but also because, as you said, they are moving away from that one day of consumerism bench shopping. thank you. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we return to the black sea to see how years of hard graft and investment are turning the tide against pollution. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world, the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number

ten to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot—air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s. it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. you are watching the briefing. our headlines: protesters in sydney have kicked off a fresh round of global protests against climate change. thousands more are set to join rallies across asia and europe demanding urgent action. there is a changing of the guard

at the european council in brussels later today, with belgium's former prime minister charles michel set to replace outgoing president donald tusk. fans of the k—pop superstar goo hara are calling for more to be done to help the victims of so—called spy camera crimes in south korea. the singer and actress took her own life earlier this week. she had spent the last year in a public court battle, claiming her ex—boyfriend had threatened to release a sex tape of the couple. our seoul correspondent laura bicker has this report. 28—year—old eun—ju lee took her own life just weeks afterfinding out a male colleague had secretly filmed her in the nurses‘ changing room. she suffered from frequent nightmares. she felt he was still watching her. translation: you can still kill someone without using weapons. the impact of this crime can differ from person to person. some might be able to pull through.

others, like my daughter, might not. eun—ju's parents are furious that the culprit was sentenced to ten months in prison. translation: people don't take it seriously. even me, i used to think something like this can be manageable. but, when it became my issue, it felt huge. translation: the sentencing is so weak. tens of thousands of fans of k—pop superstar goo hara agree with them. the singer and actress took her own life earlier this week. she had spent a year battling a high—profile case, claiming her ex—boyfriend was threatening to release a sex tape.

he was given a suspended sentence. her supporters started a petition calling for tougher penalties for all offenders. illicit filming or so—called spy cam crimes are endemic in south korea. most of those found guilty just receive a fine. translation: yes, the sentencing is too lenient. it's because there are just too many cases. because it's so prevalent, the courts don't take it seriously, and also because men do not experience it. so we've come to this motel room to show you just how easy it is to hide a spy camera. it is this, right on top of the television. this one has been made to look like a shirt button. they come in all shapes and sizes. the footage from this can be uploaded onto your phone in seconds, and within minutes, it is on the internet. campaigners say only tougher sentences will act as a real deterrent, but there is hope that things are changing. this is the hope of eun—ju's parents, as they prepare for a battle in court.

translation: i'm going to go 'til the end, all the way to the supreme court. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. the black sea is the most polluted stretch of water in europe. on thursday, we brought you the first of our special reports on maritime polution. for their second investigation, our correspondentjonah fisher and video journalist abdujalil abdurasulov have travelled across the region to look at what is being done to turn things around. their report begins in budapest. the frontline in efforts to save the black sea as hundreds of kilometres from its sure. so this is basically a river of human to. yes. this is water treatment plant in hungary. completed nine years ago, it has helped budapest clean—up it's rather

embarrassing waste disposal problem. before this plan was built, so around half of the produced wastewater was going directly to the river. raw sewage? raw sewage. and after we have this one, after 2010, almost 95%, 96%, of the whole sewage is treated, biologically treated, and going like this, clean, to the danube. similar plans have been built all along the river, dramatically cleaning up the water that then empties into the black sea. the driving force for change has been membership of the european union. you provide a framework where the combination of the regulatory framework, the regulation, and the tra nsfer of framework, the regulation, and the transfer of the money that finances support to the new member state, was one of the key factors of the improvement of the situation on the danube. so this is a positive story. you are sure that the danube, and by connection the black sea, are now on

their way back. the worst is over? definitely over the last 15 years we have witnessed improvement. the whole venue is a success —— danube river story is a success story of the country transforming itself in environmental management, and reaching a better handle of the situation. in search of the promised signs of recovery, we headed to the pa rt signs of recovery, we headed to the part of the black sea closest to the mouth of the danube. the divers we are with are looking for something very specific, i once plentiful red seaweed. it is a key indicator of water quality. translation: it does seem water quality. translation: it does seem that the sea is getting healthier, compared to previous yea rs, healthier, compared to previous years, i could see more. but we can't relax, because the entire ecosystem of the sea is still seriously damaged. there is still a

long way to go. for those in charge of monitoring the black sea, they are now sending cautiously optimistic. when i would be putting it in one sentence, it is that truly the black sea is recovering. for those who despair that our planet is incapable of rising to the scale of the global environmental crisis, the black sea is an example of how, with sustained effort, a seemingly endless tired of destruction can be slowed, and just maybe turned. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm chetan pathak, with friday's sport briefing. it is seven games without a win for arsenal, who missed the chance to qualify for the knockout stages of the europa league after losing at home to eintracht frankfurt. they needed a point at home to go through, and it looked good when pierre—emerick aubameyang fired them in front. but, after the break, daichi kamada scored twice in ten

minutes to turn the game around. their 2—1 win boosts their hopes of going through to the last 32. only a freak result on match day six will prevent arsenal from qualifying. but the defeat piles more pressure on manager unai emery. now, our moment is not good. we need to achieve confidence and win games. but everybody, the players, the coaches and me, now we lost some confidence, but we need to win. the first half was good and the second half again, also we started very well. and they tried, they want it. the president of russia's olympic commitee says they will be doing all they can to compete under their own flag at next year's

games in tokyo. the world anti—doping agency has recommended that russia be banned from all sporting competition for four years for allegedly falsifying lab data handed over as part of a doping investigation. translation: a neutral flag is completely out of the question. if you open and carefully look into the olympic texts, you'll be able to find a corresponding paragraph which distinctly regulates all things related to the flag and anthem of national olympic committees. it is the final race of the season. first practce at the abu dhabi grand prix gets underway in the next few hours. plenty of eyes will be on ferrari teammates charles leclerc and sebastian vettel, who crashed into each other in brazil two weeks ago. i think it was very unfortunate, first of all, because the touch was extremely small, and it had a big... yes, a big drama after that. as a team, ithink yes, a big drama after that. as a team, i think we probably shall try and bea

team, i think we probably shall try and be a bit less aggressive in between each other to — for these things do not happen again, for the tea m things do not happen again, for the team it's not good, for everyone who is supporting us, it is not good, so we will try for it not to happen again. the second round of the first event of the european tour season will be underway in south africa shortly. netherlands‘ wil besseling leads the alfred dunhill championship by one shot after a seven—under—par 65. it is also the first time men have been allowed to wear shorts on the european tour, after the rules were relaxed because of the heat. and here is one for those of you who've got a sporting bucket list. this might take some beating. jacob barnor, from leeds in england, is a huge nfl fan. he was saving up for a deposit on a house, but then decided he would rather set a world record of watching every one of the 32 nfl teams at home in 84 days. the final destination of his american odyssey was atlanta falcons' home match against the new orleans saints on thursday.

he might have no house, but he will a lwa ys he might have no house, but he will always have those pictures. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that is bbc.com/sport. but from me, chetan pathak, and the rest of the sport team, that's your friday sport briefing. chances are, you have probably written a ferris wheel, but —— road a ferris wheel, but have you ever tried moving one? it weighed 750 tons. this is a new world record. he called the task brutal. ican think i can think of many other words to describe that, brutal definitely being one of them. we have been asking your thoughts about black

friday, you can't have missed it. your e—mail invites will have been inundated with bargains —— e—mail inbox. are you actually walking away from black friday now on environmental grounds, deciding it is actually no good for the environment? so we have had quite a few e—mails in on this. chris says, good morning, iam few e—mails in on this. chris says, good morning, i am looking for something and i will wait until black friday to see if it is reduced, but don't buy items i don't need just because they are discounted prices. sadly some do, i think a lot of people do that. i think a lot of people do that. i think i have been victim to that in the past. we have also had this from tom kelly, he says i don't think back friday is as good as it used to be. wondering if there is any genuine bargains out there. michael ba rnwell genuine bargains out there. michael barnwell says there are genuine bargains in his view, with large savings to be had, talking about half—price winter jackets, savings to be had, talking about half—price winterjackets, he says it makes a big difference to the pocket. that is the key, if you know you have your eye on something, you can try and spot if there is a deal

to be had out there. keep those coming in. stay with me, i will be backin coming in. stay with me, i will be back ina coming in. stay with me, i will be back in a few minutes with all the top business stories in the business briefing. hello there. skies like these around the fort william area of scotland, and these will be familiar to most of us over the next few days. the sunnier weather associated with much colder air that has been making its way southwards across the country, really dropping those temperatures, but changing our weather to drier conditions, with more in the way of sunshine. it'll be cold both by day and by night, with some really sharp overnight frosts around the corner. indeed, starting off this morning, some frost and a risk of a few icy stretches. most of us, though, having a lovely, sunny start of the day. there will be patchy cloud

for northern scotland and down the eastern side of scotland, eastern areas of england, with frequent showers for these areas. but come inland, we'll keep those sunny skies. but, through the afternoon, those temperatures will be struggling. it's going to be a cold afternoon, temperatures around about three to seven degrees celsius, something like that. and then overnight, as we keep the clear skies across inland areas, temperatures are going to drop away very quickly. a few mist and fog patches may well develop and become quite dense by dawn. but it's the temperatures you'll probably notice most, with a really widespread frost developing for most parts of the uk. so a cold and frosty start to the weekend. high pressure in charge. a fine start to the day on saturday for most areas. but this low pressure gets close enough to south—west england to threaten cloud and rain moving in here. and certainly there'll be a pick—up in the strength of the winds, which will make it feel really cold. now, away from those south—western areas, any mist and fog could take a while to clear out of the way. but for most of us, there will be more in the way of sunshine. but, for most of us, there will be

more in the way of sunshine. temperatures again struggling, three to seven or eight celsius again a few showers for northern scotland. overnight, the rain in the south—west may well extend towards dorset, perhaps the isle of wight for a time, before sinking back southwards as the low pressure spins its way down towards france. high pressure then firmly with us again towards sunday, and that means it's going to be another fine and dry day for most of us. a few changes around, though. some cloud moving into the far north of scotland, with more frequent showers moving in towards here. with a change in the wind direction, we'll see some showers moving into the thames estuary. so north kent, for example, could be quite wet in one or two areas. another cold one, 4—7 celsius. it stays cold through the first part of the week. it does turn mild later on next week. that's your weather.

this is the business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. black friday — or green friday? the annual retail frenzy begins, amid growing concerns about the environmental cost plus, is india heading for an economic emergency? flagging growth means nojobs for the millions of young people entering the labor market and on the markets — quiet. asian stock markets cautious on concerns about renewed us—china tensions. the us was closed of course for thanksgiving.